


The Farmer, The Botanist, and the Truth

by SecondStarfall (beantiger)



Series: The Second Starfall Stories [26]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Developing Friendships, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Style, Fantasy, Flash Fic, Flowers, Friendship, Gardens & Gardening, Gen, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, Medieval, Microfic, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22584040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beantiger/pseuds/SecondStarfall
Summary: “What are those...things?” asked the tulip-farmer.“True blossoms.”“They seem very important to you.”“They thrive on the truth. You would be surprised how little they are nourished."***A tulip-farmer attempts to befriend his wife's closest companion.
Series: The Second Starfall Stories [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582975
Kudos: 10





	The Farmer, The Botanist, and the Truth

**Author's Note:**

> This is a version of the original Twitterfic, same title, posted over at my now-deactivated personal account in February 2020. It has been given fairly moderate edits for consistency with other stories and readability on AO3. ❤️ 
> 
> **RECOMMENDED RE-READING:** This stands alone, I believe.
> 
> ✨ [[see the full SecStar timeline](https://secondstarfall.com/index.php/Official_Timeline) | [check out the SecStar wiki](https://secondstarfall.com/)] ✨

The queen of Althussant married a tulip-farmer. Being an agreeable sort, he found something to admire in all of the queen’s friends and staff—

Except for one.

***

His royal wife’s botanist had been her companion since childhood. Yet the botanist—a strange creature named Valériane—spent days and nights both in her tower. It seemed odd for someone who loved plants to remain indoors so much. Indeed, few ever saw her.

Nonetheless, the tulip-farmer made an effort with Valériane. He called her down to the castle gardens one morning to show off his tulips, which grew in exact rows and in perfect color.

Valériane said, “Oh, lovely." She pulled down her hood and returned to her tower.

***

The next growing season, he had bred tulips the height of ponies.

Again, the botanist said, “Wonderful,” and disappeared.

***

In his next attempt to impress her, the tulip-farmer found a very special cultivar. If you whistled, the tulips would bend their heads toward you and return the note.

Once more, the botanist simply nodded in return.

***

Some time later, the tulip-farmer, while weeding the gardens, discovered to his upset that monstrous blooms had begun to sprout between his tulips. These blooms stood no bigger than his hand, and yet tried to bite him—their petals sharp against his skin—whenever he attempted to pluck them from the soil.

He called for the botanist, and she arrived soon. After she murmured something he could not hear, the monstrous flowers disinterred themselves and leapt into her cloak.

“I apologize. The seeds must've come off my clothes at some point.” Valériane studied his face, which must have looked incredulous. “I assume you'll tell the queen. She forbade experiments—her father’s botanist caused all sorts of chaos...”

“What are those...things?” asked the tulip-farmer.

“True blossoms.”

“They seem very important to you.”

“They thrive on the truth. You would be surprised how little they're nourished. Do you want to feed one? Just tell it something...well, true.”

When the tulip-farmer took one into his outstretched hands, it looked up at him expectantly. He said, “I don't know how to become friends with the royal botanist.”

Valériane took the blossom back, and said, “Friendship cannot be forced, but starts with respect.” 

The little flower wiggled, and the two exchanged grins.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos or whatever the heck if this tickled your fancy. There shall be more! ❤️ Also, please let me know what other characters, relationships, or places you'd like to hear about. I have lots of ideas, but I'd enjoy writing a few stories for y'all as well.
> 
> ✨ [[see the full SecStar timeline](https://secondstarfall.com/index.php/Official_Timeline) | [check out the SecStar wiki](https://secondstarfall.com/)] ✨
> 
>  **AUTHOR'S COMMENTARY:** I'm surprised it took me this long to get the two plant-people in a scene together.


End file.
